Southbourne Rubber took delivery of their Zünd G3 L-2500 digital cutting system earlier this year. The company invested in the system for processing custom, precision-engineered gaskets.
Founded in a small village between West Sussex and Hampshire, from where its name derived, Southbourne Rubber (SBR) has been prominent in the manufacture of industrial rubber (precision rubber and silicone components) since the 1970s. Southbourne Rubber’s reputation is built around flexibility, technical ability, customer service, high-quality products and solutions. Their component portfolio is made up of a large range of both standard and make-to-print products.
With sustainability and renewable energy being hot topics, Southbourne Rubber were keen to lessen their impact on the planet and looked into new ways to achieve this. Stephen Wilde, Managing Director at Southbourne Rubber, visited the Advanced Engineering tradeshow at the NEC in Birmingham, where he came across the Zünd exhibition stand. Wilde said, ‘I was very impressed with the Zünd Cutter, especially the footprint, flexibility and ability to cut a wide range of materials with just a simple tool change. Furthermore, the Zünd cutter would support our ongoing efforts of reducing our carbon footprint by minimising the amount of rubber and silicone material wastage. The Zünd digital cutting system uses sophisticated nesting algorithms, programmed to maximise material yield, which in return reduces the amount of waste. I decided to follow up with Zund UK and book a product demonstration, so we could test our own materials.’
Following a successful demonstration, Southbourne Rubber ordered their Zünd G3 L-2500 digital cutting system straight away. Wilde said, ‘During the demonstration, we could really see the benefits of digitising our workflow and the ROI was clear to see over a short period of time. The speed, accuracy and quality output were amazing. We could also envisage the cutter freeing up our resources to support other areas of the business. Southbourne Rubber are growing at a rate of >35% per year and we could clearly see how the Zünd will support this growth and enhance it.’
Reflecting on the purchase, Wilde said, ‘Southbourne Rubber has now won new business it would never have been able to quote against or complete for, without the Zünd. The acquisition of the Zund will further support and enhance our continued and dynamic growth.’
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